1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to tie-down devices for vehicle beds and, more specifically, to tie-down devices that clamp to a rail of a vehicle bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles such as pick up trucks offer large cargo carrying capacity in their cargo beds. Since safety concerns dictate that cargo in an open vehicle bed be secured with a rope, strap, cable, cord, or like securing device, the cargo capacity of a vehicle is often limited by a lack of tie-down points. Moreover, if any cargo-tie down points have been integrated into a vehicle bed, they are typically at fixed locations such as a front end of the vehicle bed adjacent the vehicle cabin and a back end of the vehicle bed adjacent the tailgate. While these fixed locations do allow cargo to be tied down, certain sizes and shapes of cargo may not be well secured to the bed because they are incapable of being positioned close to one or more of the fixed locations. Therefore, there is a need for a tie down for application to a vehicle bed. Furthermore, it is desirable that the tie down be movable to several locations on the vehicle bed to secure cargo of various sizes and shapes.
Many vehicle beds include side rails having at least one edge formed by two intersecting walls. Various devices have been attempted that clamp on to these rails and include tie down hooks or cleats. However, these devices generally either do not contact both of the intersecting walls of the rail or do not provide clamps stiff enough to maintain contact with both of the intersecting walls. In either instance, the tie down provides only limited load retention ability as it may not maintain its location on the bed rail. Therefore, there is a need for a vehicle bed tie-down with a large load retention capability.